Renville County's Limbo Creek requires environmental assessment as public water, Minn. Supreme Court affirms

Tom Cherveny, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·4 min read

Sep. 28—ST. PAUL

— Renville County will need to complete an environmental assessment before it can decide whether or not to allow a drainage project in the upper reaches of Limbo Creek.

In a decision released Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed an earlier Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling that the upper watershed is a public water, and consequently an environmental assessment is mandatory.

The state's high court agreed with the Court of Appeals that the upper watershed of Limbo Creek is a public water because it meets the statutory definition of a public water. The statute defines public waters to include "natural and altered watercourses with a total drainage area greater than two square miles."

The court ruled that the statute is the determinant of what is a public water, and not the public waters inventory the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is required to maintain.

Renville County and the landowners argued that the inventory should be the determinant of whether or not a water is a public water.

Limbo Creek was originally on the public waters inventory when it was developed in 1979 but removed when a final inventory list was published in 1985. A few years ago, the DNR indicated that it intends to correct the inventory and include Limbo Creek.

Importantly in this case, the court pointed out that while Limbo Creek was not on the inventory in 1985, the public water map published as the final version in 1985 represented the upper portion of Limbo Creek as a public water with a heavy dashed line. The statute the county relies on to argue its case requires the DNR to maintain a public waters map, and consequently the representation on the map is what matters, not the inventory listing of public waters.

The court found that the county and landowners erred in their interpretation that the heavy dashed line represented a ditch. A dashed line on the map represented a ditch, while a heavy dashed line represented a ditch and public water, according to the court.

The dispute in this case was triggered when the Renville County Board of Commissioners acted on a petition by landowners on County Ditch 77. They are seeking to excavate a 5,560-linear-foot channel into Limbo Creek. The project carried an estimated cost of $699,880 when originally petitioned in 2017.

The Renville County Board of Commissioners, acting as the drainage authority, approved the project in November 2020 and determined that an environmental assessment worksheet would not be required.

Two environmental groups, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Protecting Public Waters, had challenged a decision by the Renville County Board of Commissioners to not require an environmental assessment for the project.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy argued that allowing a channel to be excavated into the outlet of County Ditch 77 into Limbo Creek poses the threat of harm, and decision-makers should know and consider the potential before awarding the project.

The environmental group argues that Limbo Creek is the last remaining free-flowing watercourse in the county.

The county and landowners argued that requiring an environmental assessment worksheet in this case "unleashes uncertainty" and could force case-by-case decisions on whether waterways are public waters, and subject to protections. They argue that 19,000 miles of public drainage systems will be impacted by the Court of Appeals decision.

This decision is not that far-reaching. The Supreme Court states in the decision that it is the responsibility of the Legislature to address the broader issue implicit in this case: "It is the duty of the Legislature to clarify the relationship between the (public waters) inventory and the statute definition of public waters."

The case has put farm and environmental groups at odds.

The Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation, Minnesota Farmers Union and Minnesota Soybean Growers Association are among the farm organizations that filed briefs in support of the landowners and county.

Environmental groups filing briefs in support of requiring an environmental assessment included Clean Up the River Environment, Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River, Friends of the Minnesota Valley, Izaak Walton League, Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, and the Minnesota Conservation and Federation.